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The country’s presidency said on Wednesday that Vladimir Putin, who has an international arrest warrant issued, will not attend the BRICS summit in South Africa next month, ending months of speculation about whether the Russian president would attend.
Putin’s potential visit has been a thorny diplomatic issue for Pretoria.
The Russian leader is the target of an ICC arrest warrant – a clause South Africa as a member of the ICC is expected to enforce if he sets foot in the country.
“By mutual agreement, Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the summit,” Vincent Maguiña, a spokesman for President Cyril Ramaphosa, said in a statement.
Maguinia said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov would represent Russia.
He added that the decision comes after “a number of consultations” that Ramaphosa had recently, the last of which was yesterday evening.
Pretoria is the current head of the BRICS grouping, short for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, which views itself as a counterweight to Western economic dominance.
Putin has been officially invited to the BRICS summit scheduled to take place in Johannesburg between August 22-24, but Pretoria is under intense domestic and international pressure not to host him.
Magwenya said leaders of other countries will all attend.
“President Ramaphosa is confident that the summit will be a success and invites the nation to extend the necessary hospitality to the many delegates who will be arriving from different parts of the continent and the world,” he said.
Putin is wanted by the International Criminal Court over accusations that Russia illegally deported Ukrainian children.
In court papers released Tuesday, Ramaphosa wrote that his arrest amounted to a declaration of war on Russia.
The assessment was made in an affidavit in response to a request by the country’s main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), which aims to force the government to ensure that the Kremlin leader is handed over to the ICC if he were to arrive.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied Russia’s threat of war, but said in Moscow that “it is absolutely clear to everyone what an attempt to encroach on the head of the Russian state means.”
The affidavit revealed that South Africa was seeking an exemption under ICC rules, arguing that the age of arrest could threaten “the security, peace and order of the country”.
Ramaphosa said the arrest would have undermined a South African-led mission to end the war in Ukraine and “prevent any peaceful resolution”.
Last month, Ramaphosa led a seven-nation African peace delegation that included representatives from Egypt, Senegal and Zambia for talks in Kiev and St. Petersburg.
Pretoria has long said it wants to remain neutral on the war in Ukraine, but critics have accused it of leaning towards Moscow.
Some fear hosting Putin could be read as a signal of support for Russia and threaten South Africa’s strong economic and trade ties with the United States and Europe.
Trade with Russia is much smaller, but their relations go back decades to when the Kremlin supported the ruling African National Congress during the struggle against apartheid.
Democratic Alliance leader John Steinhausen said Putin’s failure to attend was “a victory for South Africa”.
At stake in this matter were the country’s economic interests as well as its “reputation on the international stage and its commitment to upholding the rule of law,” he said in a statement.
South African Vice President Paul Machattel said in local media interviews recently that the government had been trying to persuade Putin not to come but had met resistance from the Kremlin.
Ramaphosa is scheduled to travel to Russia next week to attend the Russia-Africa summit in Saint Petersburg.
Putin’s potential visit has been a thorny diplomatic issue for Pretoria.
The Russian leader is the target of an ICC arrest warrant – a clause South Africa as a member of the ICC is expected to enforce if he sets foot in the country.
“By mutual agreement, Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the summit,” Vincent Maguiña, a spokesman for President Cyril Ramaphosa, said in a statement.
Maguinia said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov would represent Russia.
He added that the decision comes after “a number of consultations” that Ramaphosa had recently, the last of which was yesterday evening.
Pretoria is the current head of the BRICS grouping, short for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, which views itself as a counterweight to Western economic dominance.
Putin has been officially invited to the BRICS summit scheduled to take place in Johannesburg between August 22-24, but Pretoria is under intense domestic and international pressure not to host him.
Magwenya said leaders of other countries will all attend.
“President Ramaphosa is confident that the summit will be a success and invites the nation to extend the necessary hospitality to the many delegates who will be arriving from different parts of the continent and the world,” he said.
Putin is wanted by the International Criminal Court over accusations that Russia illegally deported Ukrainian children.
In court papers released Tuesday, Ramaphosa wrote that his arrest amounted to a declaration of war on Russia.
The assessment was made in an affidavit in response to a request by the country’s main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), which aims to force the government to ensure that the Kremlin leader is handed over to the ICC if he were to arrive.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied Russia’s threat of war, but said in Moscow that “it is absolutely clear to everyone what an attempt to encroach on the head of the Russian state means.”
The affidavit revealed that South Africa was seeking an exemption under ICC rules, arguing that the age of arrest could threaten “the security, peace and order of the country”.
Ramaphosa said the arrest would have undermined a South African-led mission to end the war in Ukraine and “prevent any peaceful resolution”.
Last month, Ramaphosa led a seven-nation African peace delegation that included representatives from Egypt, Senegal and Zambia for talks in Kiev and St. Petersburg.
Pretoria has long said it wants to remain neutral on the war in Ukraine, but critics have accused it of leaning towards Moscow.
Some fear hosting Putin could be read as a signal of support for Russia and threaten South Africa’s strong economic and trade ties with the United States and Europe.
Trade with Russia is much smaller, but their relations go back decades to when the Kremlin supported the ruling African National Congress during the struggle against apartheid.
Democratic Alliance leader John Steinhausen said Putin’s failure to attend was “a victory for South Africa”.
At stake in this matter were the country’s economic interests as well as its “reputation on the international stage and its commitment to upholding the rule of law,” he said in a statement.
South African Vice President Paul Machattel said in local media interviews recently that the government had been trying to persuade Putin not to come but had met resistance from the Kremlin.
Ramaphosa is scheduled to travel to Russia next week to attend the Russia-Africa summit in Saint Petersburg.
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